The name "Jōban" is dervied from the names of the former provinces of Hitachi (常陸) and Iwaki (磐城), which the line connects to Tokyo.

As of August 2014[update], two segments of the Joban Line are closed in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The segment between Tatsuta and Haranomachi, which runs through the exclusion zone surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown, is closed indefinitely, while the segment between Hamayoshida and Sōma is under reconstruction and served by an interim bus service.[1][2][3] JR East is currently inspecting the segments between Hirono and Tomioka and between Namie and Haranomachi in preparation for the surrounding areas being cleared for re-settlement,[4] and plans to reconstruct the track and stations between Hamayoshida and Komagamine in new positions located farther inland, targeting completion by 2017.[5] As of January 31, 2015, sections between Tatsuta and Haranomachi are replaced by a bus service.

The Jōban Line connects Tokyo and the Tōhoku region. After the opening of the Tōhoku Shinkansen in 1982, the Jōban Line was split into two parts at Iwaki: south of Iwaki is double track, and north of Iwaki is single track.

From 2007, until the Fukushima disaster in 2011, the Jōban Line was typically split into four parts for operational purposes.

The Mito Railway Co. opened the line in sections between 1889 and 1905. The dates of the individual section openings are given below. After the line was nationalised in 1906, a program of double-tracking commenced in 1910, with the 219 km section between Nippori and Yotsukura completed in 1925. The Hirono - Kido and Ono - Futaba sections were double-tracked in 1976.

The first section electrified was Nippori - Matsudo (at 1,500 V DC) in 1936, and extended to Toride in 1949. The Toride - Kusano section was electrified at 20 kV AC between 1961 and 1963, and extended to Iwanumi in 1967.

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami caused severe disruption to the line, with services to Iwaki disrupted for a month, services to Yotsukura disrupted for two months, and services to Hirono disrupted for six months. Services on the isolated Haranomachi - Soma section were restored 9 months after the disaster, and services from Iwanuma to Hamayoshida took two years to be restored. Services on the Hirono - Tatsuta section returned on 1 June 2014. The Hamayoshida - Soma section is being rebuilt at a higher, tsumani-proof level, and is scheduled to be reopened in March 2017. It is not known when the Haranomachi - Tatsuta section will be reopened, as it is largely within the exclusion zone declared following the meltdown of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power-station, with the Ono - Futaba section of the line within approximately 2 km of the epicentre of the meltdown.

February 15, 1944: Momouchi signal box is built between Namie and Odaka.

February 20, 1944: Suetsugi signal box is built between Kunohama and Hirono.

June 1, 1947: Suetsugi signal box becomes Suetsugi Station.

August 10, 1948: Momouchi signal box becomes Momouchi Station.

May 10, 1949: Shimoyama Station opens.

June 1, 1949: Matsudo — Toride tracks are electrified.

July 6, 1949: In what is known as the Shimoyama incident, JNR president at the time, Shimoyama Sadanori, is mysteriously found dead between Kita-Senju and Ayase Stations.

May 10, 1950: Sekimoto Station is renamed Ōtsukō Station.

May 1, 1952: Kita-Matsudo Station opens.

July 10, 1952: Komagamine Station opens.

October 1, 1953: Minami-Kashiwa Station opens.

December 20, 1956: Tsuzura Station is renamed Uchigō Station.

April 1, 1957: Ishigami Station is renamed Tōkai Station.

June 1, 1958: Semi-express Tokiwa begins operation.

October 10, 1958: The Limited express Hatsukari begins operation (Ueno — Aomori). It stops at Ueno, Mito, Taira, and Sendai Stations when it runs on the Jōban Line tracks.

October 1, 1959: Nagatsuka Station is renamed Futaba Station.

October 1, 1960: Kanayama signal box is built between Tatsuta and Tomioka. Ōkuma signal box is built between Watari and Iwanuma.

March 20, 1961: Nakamura Station is renamed Sōma Station.

June 1, 1961: Toride — Katsuta tracks are electrified.

May 3, 1962: The Mikawashima Rail Crash occurs between Mikawashima and Minami-Senju when an Iwaki-bound passenger train crashes into the wreckage of a crash between an Ueno-bound passenger train and an Ueno-bound freight train. 160 people die and 296 are injured in the incident.

October 1, 1962: Katsuta — Takahagi tracks are electrified.

May 1, 1963: Takahagi — Taira tracks are electrified.

April 20, 1963: Takahira signal box is built between Haranomachi and Kashima.

September 30, 1963: Taira — Kusano tracks are electrified.

March 5, 1966: Tokiwa semi-express becomes an express.

February 1, 1967: Kōen-Shimo Station is renamed Kairakuen Station.

August 20, 1967: With the electrification of the Kusano — Iwanuma tracks, the entire Jōban Line becomes electrified.

April 20, 1971: Construction of the Kita-Senju — Abiko Jōban Local Line is finished and runs through service to the Eidan Subway Chiyoda Line (present-day Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line). (The Chiyoda Line only ran as far as Kasumigaseki at the time). Tennōdai Station opens and Kita-Kashiwa Station is open to passengers.

April 1, 1973: Shin-Matsudo Station opens.

March 31, 1978: With the extension of its tracks to Yoyogi-Uehara Station, the Chiyoda Line shares tracks with the Odakyu Odawara Line up to Hon-Atsugi Station. 203 series trains are introduced to run through service to the Chiyoda Line.

November 15, 1982: Jōban Local Line extended from Abiko — Toride.

February 1, 1984: Mito — Nakagawa freight line is closed.

March 14, 1985: Bampaku-Chūō Station is temporarily opened (until September 16) for the Tsukuba Expo '85. The Uchigō-System-ku is abolished. The Tokiwa express is discontinued.

April 1, 1987: With the split of JNR, the Jōban Line becomes part of JR East.

March 13, 2004: Kawajiri Station is renamed Jūō Station. Regular trains begin making stops at Mikawashima and Minami-Senju Stations throughout the day.

October 16, 2004: Medium-distance trains are called rapid trains for the section between Ueno and Toride.

July 9, 2005: New E531 series dual-voltage EMUs enter service on line. Special Rapid Service begins between Ueno — Tsuchiura. Commuter Rapid service from Ueno ends. One Commuter Rapid service still runs from Mito to Ueno.

March 17, 2006: All Commuter Rapid Service ends.

May 15, 2006: Women-only cars introduced on Jōban Local Line trains [7:10 – 9:30 AM measured by the time the trains pass through Ayase station] from Toride running through to Yoyogi-Uehara on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line.

January 6, 2007: Double-deck Green cars are phased in on E531 series EMUs running between Ueno and Takahagi. No Green car supplement required until start of new timetable on 2007-03-18.

March 18, 2007: Full Green car service commences on E531 series EMUs running between Ueno and Takahagi; E501 series EMUs reassigned to Mito Line and Jōban services north of Tsuchiura become 10-car or 5-car formations only

March 15, 2008: Suica use extended to stations between Hitachi and Takahagi

September 9, 2009: E233 series 10-car EMUs introduced on Chiyoda Line through services

March 11, 2011: During the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, a 4-car train on the line was picked up off the tracks by the tsunami surge and overturned at Shinchi and Tomioka stations. All passengers from the train were evacuated before the tsunami came ashore. Tomioka was affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster and was prohibited entrance without legal permission.

May 2014: Test-running commenced on the section of the line between Hirono and Tatsuta stations closed since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, with the intention of resuming passenger services on this section from 1 June.[8]

June 1, 2014: Train operations were resumed Sunday on a section of the Joban Line that had been suspended due to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent nuclear crisis.[9]

The Tsukura Railway Co. opened a 40 km line to Iwase on the Mito Line in 1918. Freight services ceased in 1981, and the line closed in 1987.

A 5 km line to Ami, electrified at 600 VDC, was operated by the Southern Electric Railway Co. between 1926/28 and 1938.

Mito station -

The Mito Seashore Electric Railway Co. opened a line eventually extending 21 km between Kamimito and Nakaminato-Cho, electrified at 600 VDC, between 1922 and 1930. It closed in sections between 1953 and 1966. At Onuki station (12 km from Mito) on this line the Kashima Light Railway Co. operated a 17 km 762mm gauge line between 1926 and 1930 to Hokota (see next entry below).

The Mito Electric Railway Co. operated an 11 km line to Okunotani (not electrified, despite the company name) between 1929 and 1936.

Ishioka station - The Kashima Sangu Railway Co. opened a 27 km line to Hokota between 1924 and 1929. Freight services ceased in 2002 and the line closed in 2007.

Akatsuka station - A 25 km line to Gozenyama was opened by the Ibaraki Railway Co. in 1926/27. In 1944/45 the first 4 km of the line to Minami Hakamatsuka was electrified. The line closed in sections between 1965 and 1971.

Tokai station - The Ibaraki Prefectural Government operated a 4 km 762mm (2'6") gauge line to Muramutsu between 1926 and 1933.

Omika station - An 11 km line to Johoku Ota (now Hitachi-Ota on the Suigun Line) was opened by the Johoku Electric Railway in 1928/29. In 1944 the company merged with the Hitachi Electric Railway, and a 7 km line to Akukawa was opened in 1947. Both lines were electrified at 600 VDC from opening. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1969, and in 1971 the lines became the first electric railway in Japan converted to one-person operation. Both lines closed in 2005.

Izumi station - The Onahama Horse tram opened a 762mm gauge line 5 km to its namesake town in 1907, and extended the line a further 5 km to Ena in 1916. The Onahama - Ena section closed in 1936, the company renamed itself the Onahama Port Railway in 1939, and converted the line to 1067mm gauge in 1941. The Ena Railway Co. rebuilt the Onahama - Ena section as 1067mm gauge in 1953. In 1965 a typhoon caused the collapse of a retaining wall, and the Onahama - Ena section formally closed in 1967. The passenger service on the Izumi - Onahama section ceased in 1972, the line is now freight-only operated by the Fukushima Rinkai Railway.

A 6 km 762mm gauge line to Nagahashi was operated by the Iwaki City Council between 1914 and 1929.

Uchigo station - The Furukawa Co. built a 7 km 762mm gauge line to the Kita-Yoshima coal mine in 1905. In 1908 the line was rebuilt to 1067mm gauge and shortened by 1 km. The mine and line closed in 1969.

Iwaki station - The Yoshima and Akai local railways connected here, details of these lines are not currently available.